Front hockey stick and egg crate query.

Hi all, any one had any success in improving the alignment and gaps between the front egg crate grills and the hockey stick or over rider trims. The majority of the ones I have seen are mis aligned. I fitted the new bumper which fits as well as the old original , refreshed the egg crates and as everything was off and loose , thought I would have a reasonable chance of getting a better fit , i thought wrong , everything has to be pulled in various directions just to find bolt holes, the whole front end seems under a lot of stress and all parts fighting each other!! Any hints or tips welcome

That’s a Chevrolet of the 1970’s I’m afraid. As long as it bolted together it’s OK.

Nassau65 said:

That’s a Chevrolet of the 1970’s I’m afraid. As long as it bolted together it’s OK.

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Yes I am starting to realise that. It gets more frustrating tho, I put it all back together only to find the head lamp doors are just catching the bracket on the new bumper that the over rider bolts too, the door catches and suddenly bangs shut. Going to loosen everything off again to make some more space

Build quality, fit and Finnish were not a high priority in the 1970’s for the “big three” it was just get um out the door.

Nassau65 said:

Build quality, fit and Finnish were not a high priority in the 1970’s for the “big three” it was just get um out the door.

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Yes . When you see hoe stuuff fits nowadays with all the cnc design. Look at a dyson vacuum Cleaner when you dismantle and re assemble they almost “fall together” and click into position. Imagine a vette with dyson panel fit.

There is an almost 'magic' solution however............Sikaflex.....wonderfully sticky stuff, sticks like XXXX to a blanket, available in various colours and enable you to secure those difficult items of trim and those door cars that just won't fit flat on the doors and dries with a finish like OEM plastic........its the adhesive equivalent of the engineers multi-purpose ball pein hammer tool!

You need a lot of patience with them. All parts fitted but loose then manipulate into place and tighten up. Helps if it's not been hit of course..

Took me a couple of tries over a couple of days to get them as close fitting as possible but not perfect.

Mr. Cricket said:

You need a lot of patience with them. All parts fitted but loose then manipulate into place and tighten up. Helps if it's not been hit of course..

Took me a couple of tries over a couple of days to get them as close fitting as possible but not perfect.

View attachment 17866

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Good work mr C. Some of the best I have seen, when can I drop mine round to you? going to have another go at mine this eve as my lights are just catching the over rider bracket on the bumper ans stopping the n/s lamp from closing then it shuts with a bang. Going to close manually to see what is fouling and adjust.

Mad4slalom said:

Good work mr C. Some of the best I have seen, when can I drop mine round to you? going to have another go at mine this eve as my lights are just catching the over rider bracket on the bumper ans stopping the n/s lamp from closing then it shuts with a bang. Going to close manually to see what is fouling and adjust.

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All back together , I had to grind the corners off the over rider brackets hanging off the paragon bumper. The headlamp doors were just catching them . All seems fine now and back together , gaps around the front end a bit better now. Anyone on here moved their centre grill forward in line with the egg crates using spacers of some sort ? Looks to improve the front end . Need to run with no front number plate to really get the benefit, but prob get a pull by a traffic police officer. View attachment 17932

Mad4slalom said:

Good work mr C. Some of the best I have seen, when can I drop mine round to you? going to have another go at mine this eve as my lights are just catching the over rider bracket on the bumper ans stopping the n/s lamp from closing then it shuts with a bang. Going to close manually to see what is fouling and adjust.

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looking a lot better now, I had to flex the front lower fibreglass panel up into line and slide some wedges of solid rubber bush between the panel and the over rider and this holds it in position without having to screw or glue . not perfect loads better than before

I got pulled up a little while ago in a C4 without a front plate. Got a telling off, promised to get one on, and away I went.

Nassau65 said:

I got pulled up a little while ago in a C4 without a front plate. Got a telling off, promised to get one on, and away I went.

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Ah! But do you now have one ? Fine if you only get pulled by a different officer. If the same one pulls you he may feel you need a bit more stick and less carrot

Mr. Cricket said:

You need a lot of patience with them. All parts fitted but loose then manipulate into place and tighten up. Helps if it's not been hit of course..

Took me a couple of tries over a couple of days to get them as close fitting as possible but not perfect.

View attachment 17866

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sunflower yellow ? Looks beautiful in that colour. Remember seeing an overheated c3 years ago in the services, stopped to see if we could help, the owner had inadvertently removed the pressure cap and it had exploded all over him, the engine bay and bodywork, He was a bit scalded over his arms and chest and the lovely yellow yellow paint was covered with rusty brown block water. Poor chap filled it up and drove off looking like a giant rotten banana. But hey , that car still looked beautiful! .